Supporters of Steve’s swim epic could win £1,000

The father-of-two, better known as his charitable alter-ego The Swimming Gardener, will be rewarding people who sponsor him – by giving them the chance to win £1,000.

The challenge, which Steve has entitled the Splash 4 Cash, will take place on September 14 and will be supporting Chestnut Tree House children’s hospice, in Poling.

He aims to swim for a total of ten hours, come rain or shine, in a determined effort to complete as much of an ambitious 21-mile route as he can.

Steve said: “This is a real first for me. People know that I’ve done swimming in the past. They know I can swim 15 miles.

“So I thought it would be difficult to ask them to support me like this.

“That’s why I came up with the idea to give a cash prize. The route is going to be so unpredictable. No one knows what the weather might be like.

“So I might only complete 12 or 15 miles. But then again I could finish the whole route.”

The £1,000 prize money was donated by Jeremy Silverthorne Fine Jewellery, in Worthing, and the Shoreham Vehicle Auctions, in Lancing.

Those wishing to sponsor can pay £10 to enter a single guess at how far they think Steve will be able to travel during his 10-hour time limit. His distance will be tracked using a GPS monitoring system.

“It’s going to be a great challenge and hopefully it’ll raise a terrific sum of cash for a great cause,” added Steve.

He will set off from Worthing Pier, at 7am, swimming west, towards Littlehampton, before heading north up the River Arun. He hopes to reach the Black Rabbit pub, just outside Arundel, before turning round and heading back to the finish, at Littlehampton harbour.

Steve can be sponsored by visiting here.